


Tension and Release

by Caliginous_Confused



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: After Recall, Hanzo is going to be an assassin to start out with, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, McCree is going to be a vigilante to start, Slow Burn, also people are going to get shot so be prepared for that as well, also theres going to be a part where a prosthetic is going to come off, and also falling for the cowboy, getting over the whole murdering his brother thing, repetition is going to happen within common themes of tension and release, surprisingly with a title like this theres no smut, thats going to be an important part, then shit is going to go down
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-08-07 15:27:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7720039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caliginous_Confused/pseuds/Caliginous_Confused
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tension: Found when your assassination attempt fails because the guy you're supposed to be killing dodges your arrow and then calls you out for thinking that killing him would be easy. </p><p>Release is found when he decides not to shoot you where you stood and instead decides to have a nice chat with you. </p><p>---<br/>Hanzo is hired to kill McCree and being all too familiar on the receiving end of a gun he calls the archer out on it and with Overwatch banding back together, the two whether by choice or happenstance (on multiple occasions) get pulled in as well.</p><p>Discontinued because I am just not really into this story anymore, sorry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

Tension.

The muscles in the archer’s back, were flexed arms and legs were pulled tight, his muscles flexing as he knelt down within the edge of the shadows of the rooftop. The air was cool, a sigh of relief from the heat that pummeled the land into submission during the day. The golden ribbon tied in his hair dancing behind him as he took a deep breath, and raised his chin slightly to get a better angle to aim the bow that seemed to fit just right in his hands. His body was low, almost pressed against the roof, one leg stretched out to the side, used for balance, the other bent with most of his weight centered on the middle of this foot. His fingers were curled around the thin string of his bow, the curve of his thumb brushing lightly under his chin as he took another slow inhale in.

Every Thursday night was the same routine; his target went into the small café across the street from where he was currently hiding for coffee and a slice of pie. He was all smiles and jokes as talked to the wait staff and seemed to be a generally warm person. The people inside seemed to enjoy his company as he seemed to enjoy theirs. However, after he paid his bill, the warmth within him seemed to leave as he always had a somber expression on his face as he walked outside. He always looked around, always left and right, never up. Which was odd if he was looking for attackers, but it left him open so the archer wasn’t about to complain. He was never met with anyone, friend or adversary and once he was a few feet from the door, he stopped. His hands would disappear under the red serape he wore around his neck and over his chest. He would stick a cigarillo in his mouth, lighting it before walking off in a cloud of smoke. Sometimes he hummed, most of the time he was silent other than the ringing of the spurs around his ankles.  

It was a simple routine, and the archer could appreciate it. It was the little things in life yes? However, it was a simple routine that left him wide open for attack.

The target stood up and left some money on the table. Hanzo’s grip tightened. The string of the bow groaned quietly under the tension. A warmth was felt on the hand that was pulling the bowstring. The strength enhancer on his arm working a little longer than it was used to. His normal form of attack was quick, making the careful aim he was taking seem like an eternity in comparison.

The target waved to the people working in the diner before walking toward the door. A bright smile was on his face as the sounds of the normal hustle and bustle under the archer seemed to fade from existence. Hanzo exhaled slowly out of his mouth as a final steady to his aim. The door opened and the man stepped out.

Release.

The cycle of tension and release was a prominent theme for the archer. His attacks required a lot repetition of this cycle. Tension is created in the body. The muscles tense in his back, arms and legs keeping the shot steady. Tension was created when he decided to get involved in other people’s conflicts in order to make money, tensions were created when he decided to listen to other people. Tension was created when he raised a weapon toward another living creature with the intention of release.

It all rested at the tip of his arrow.

First it was the breath that was let go. It released the nerves and pent up energy from his core. The tight muscles that ran down his back and thighs release the tension they store. They are still flexing in order to keep the energy stored in the bowstring high. They are, however relaxed. The distractions release their hold on his mind; the world around him disappears, leaving only him and his target. He releases the hold his fingers have on the bowstring. The string releases the tension it holds as the arrow whistles through the air and releases the target from their mortal coil.

_Twip._

The archer lowered his bow and watched his arrow fly, listening as it whistled through the air. His steely eyes watching it, not daring to blink until the mark was met. The rest of his face was relaxed, no emotion to be detected. He was confident that the whistle wouldn’t give him away as it normally was heard just in time for its target to see the tip before it they were met with darkness.

A frown quickly found its place on the archer’s face, his eye twitching slightly. Something was wrong. The grip on his bow tightened as he saw the gleam of the man’s eyes as he did something he had never done before; he looked up.

The man that the arrow had marked for death simply bowed his head as he put the cigarillo between his lips and rolled out of the way just in time. A single arrow marking the ground where he was just standing. The red serape that was resting on his shoulders billowed slightly from the speed of his movements, another layer of dust now embedded within its threads.

“Now, I know ya ain’t under the impression that I was just gonna let ya shoot me square in the head without a good fight now did ya?” the man called out in a thick southern accent that seemed more fit in old western movies than in the middle of the small town in the American Midwest.  

Pressing his lips together, the assassin slowly stood up, his bow held as his side as the two simply stared at one another. Another breeze passed between them. The gold ribbon in the archer’s hair shined in the pale moonlight, the serape billowing slightly in the wind almost in sync. No one moved to get a weapon, nor broke the other’s gaze. The shooter made no move to answer the target’s question. Letting his straight back, and dark eyes do all the talking for him.

Tension.

The name Hanzo Shimada was still very well known in crime circles, and though the reputation of “brother killer” stung each and every time it was thrown around, he played it off. The name and reputation he had was all his own doing. He was the one who raised his sword, and if title gave him jobs that were challenging, he would be more than happy to live up to this reputation of a soulless killer.

He was born into the occupation, heir to a crime empire that specialized in taking out people for money that later grew to became one of the biggest crime syndicates in the world. That was until a mixture of infighting and Overwatch happened. Shimada was once a name that the archer had once worn proudly. It had power. Not so much anymore. It was known, but the fear it instilled had greatly diminished.

The archer had left the clan on his own accord at the supposed death of his brother, and the infiltration of Overwatch proved that his decision was the wise one. The Shimada empire didn’t stand a chance the way he heard it. Since then, he learned to lay low. He only gave out his name when it counted, when the normal jobs were sparse and he wanted a challenge.

This is how he got his current job, supposedly the target was too smart and cautious for his own good. However, from observing him for almost three weeks, the target seemed to be neither. First off, the outfit stood out in the city they were in, a bright red serape thrown over his shoulders and that infernal cowboy hat. It was basically a target for anyone looking for him. If it wasn’t that he knew that he shared a similar story with this target it would’ve been done the first night on the job, turning it in complaining had he gotten the kill. Luckily, he glanced at the dossier of his target instead of going in completely blind like he normally did.

He was a sharpshooter, former outlaw and now currently preferring the term “vigilante” as it were. He was a former member of Deadlock, and more recently former Overwatch, specifically in the Blackwatch subdivision. He had a prosthetic left arm and was deadly accurate if he got close to his target with his right. He seemed to always be aware of what was going on around him, the evidence was in front of the archer and his missed shot. Hanzo wasn’t too worried. Keep silent and keep his distance, two things he could do without even thinking about it.

“Now, why don’t y’all come down here and we can chit chat this through. There ain't no use in tryin’ to kill me again since ya done fucked that up the first time,” he continued to call. He hooked his thumbs behind his ridiculously large belt buckle as he shifted his weight casually as he nodded toward Hanzo's arrow. “Now, who put the hit out this time?” Hanzo blinked a little at the question, he knew he was being hunted. This most likely meant that he wasn’t the first assassin to try this. That, or he was simply used to being shot at, and given the cowboy’s crime history he understood.

Tension.

A small bow of the head signaled that he was going to grant his target’s request to come down from the roof. He would lose his disadvantage, but he hoped the cowboy couldn't tell how versatile he was in combat. Two quiet footsteps brought him to the edge as he fell to the ground soundlessly. The streets had since quieted down, the rain of a single arrow brought all attention to the two of them. No one dared to move as the archer shifted his stance, defensive now that he was toe to toe with someone else had marked for dead.

The cowboy was taller than he was, not that it mattered. A lot of Americans were taller than the Japanese man. This was nothing he wasn’t used to, or surprised at really. He knew how to deal with it, and with the larger build of the man in front of him, quick strong attacks to his solar plexus and groin should bring him down no problem should this escalate to the point of a street fight.

“Now partner, what’s your name?” the taller asked lightly playing with his cigarillo. “I’m assumin’ ya know mine.” McCree Jesse, or rather Jesse McCree was his name. A slight dip of Hanzo’s head was given in response to McCree’s latter statement.

One of the people who hired him simply spat out his name as they threw the dossier at him during his briefing. The way his employer spoke of him, it seemed as if they knew each other in the past, and McCree wronged this man. Hanzo’s assumption was that this person worked with him during McCree’s Deadlock days, turning a new leaf and joining an organization that was supposed to throw him in prison seemed like a good enough motive for this type of vendetta. Hanzo has also killed for less, so he wasn’t one to judge.

“My name is Shimada Hanzo,” he responded raising his chin up with pride despite his missed shot. McCree looked down at the man, deciding to measure him up at the sound of a familiar name. He started at his build, clearly no stranger to combat, especially when taking in the stance. The way he held the bow was similar to how the cowboy held Peacekeeper, poised and ready at a moment's notice. He couldn’t decide if those were prosthesis or enhancers on the man’s legs. Slowly he looked over the dark kimono, his chest and tattoo. The dark intricate tattoo held the cowboy’s gaze for a few seconds. Eventually, he met his eyes, the Shimada’s gaze was sharp.

He was searching for similarities, trying to find something that revealed why the name was so familiar. This didn’t go undetected by Hanzo who’s eyebrows slightly rose in interest at McCree. The man was almost as unreadable as himself. This didn't bother Hanzo in the slightest, it just meant the vigilante was starting to show the intelligence he was warned about.

Tension.

“Shimada,” McCree said slowly as if tasting the name on his tongue would help him connect where he heard the name before. Hanzo ignored how blatantly western the pronunciation of his name was; the ending “a” was too long and the “i” sounded more like an “e” to his ears. There was no attempt to take out the very southern drawl that colored his word; he spat it out like he would any other. Regardless, something clicked in his eyes, seemingly finding the answer asked silently to himself. “Ahh yeah, I think I know where that name came from.” Hanzo slightly narrowed his eyes at the outward thinking that was taking place in front of him. The cowboy moved to scratch the side of his unshaven face. “He did say he had a brother or somethin’. Tried to kill ‘em if I ‘member correctly. Ah well, just in case I suppose I won’t kill ya.”

“You think you could hit me?” Hanzo asked clearly doubting the cowboy’s skills through the skepticism of his voice and slightly raised eyebrows. Other than slightly raised in pitch, his voice was even as he spoke. There was no given indication on how accurate the outward thoughts of the cowboy were. Though he was correct, Hanzo had no idea if he knew Genji, and without knowing that fact he wasn’t going to give away that kind of information.

“Sweetheart, if I wanted to kill ya,” He started with a small chuckle as he ran his hand over the brim of his hat bringing it lower with his voice, “ya would be six feet under by now.” McCree peaked out from under the brim of his hat and smirked a little at the man before him. Hanzo scoffed and took a breath to start speaking but stopped.

Tension.

He wanted say likewise, but the arrow suck in the ground not even ten feet in front of him told a different story. He missed. “I assure you despite my first shot, my skills are quite formidable,” he said instead. “The battle before us, should there be one, is now a completely different one than the one before.”

McCree scoffed and finally lit his cigarillo, exhaling a few puffs of smoke as he straightened his back, making his chest more open. He was no longer looking to intimidate, Hanzo wasn’t fazed by the tough cowboy act. “There was no battle before. Ya were tryin’ to take my head off from where I was standin’.”

“Incorrect, I was trying to go through your head. It leaves less of a mess.” This earned a laugh from McCree. Hanzo let himself smirk slightly as he watched McCree’s right hand move under the cover of the serape.

They locked eyes as the laughter died down.

Release.

A gunshot rang through the air masking the _twip_ of a bowstring easily in its vibrato. Smoke both from the cigarillo and the gun obscured the cowboy’s line of sight for a few seconds. Everything was still.

Once the smoke had cleared, McCree blinked a few times. Another arrow laid stuck in the dirt, right between his feet, and a few feet from Hanzo’s left foot, a bullet. McCree slowly looked at Hanzo before letting out a low whistle. The archer was knelt down again, legs spread and bent, charging to jump. His arms were up, bow in hand ready for another shot, this one aimed right between Jesse’s eyes, no intention of missing at this close of a range.

There would be no need.

Jesse hadn’t even cocked his gun for the second shot, simply testing the archer’s reflexes. With a bow of the head, he adjusted the grip he had on his six-shooter and put it back in its holster. The tension in the bow aimed at his head was slowly released, and put the arrow back in its quiver.

“Ya ain’t a bad shot partner, I’ll give ya that. I’ll be seein’ ya around.” He winked with a smirk on his face. “Try to get a li’l more creative in ya assassination attempts. I’ll be looking forward to ‘em.”

Hanzo narrowed his eyes as the cowboy gave him a lazy wave and walked off. In a spout of frustration at how casually McCree had decided this was over, he pulled the arrow back out and took aim. He could try again, turning your back on someone who was going to kill you was foolish.

He hesitated.

Taking a shot at someone who had just called you out on trying to kill them and then proved themselves to be an equal to you was just as foolish.  

With a sigh Hanzo once again unloaded his weapon peacefully, muttering a curse as the vigilante cowboy casually walked away. He shook his head and gathered the two shots he had fired, inspecting the arrows before returning them to his quiver. He then departed himself.

Tension.  

Jesse McCree said it himself, he'd be seeing him around. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!
> 
> So I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully this is the first of many Overwatch fics I'll be writing. I will say the blatant "Hey there's tension right here" statements are only going to be in chapter 1 because of the title. I might end with either a "tension" or a "release" in other chapters, but I don't know. It all just depends on what's going on and if I am in that mood when I get to the end. Probably not though. 
> 
> I like to be a little transparent with when updates are going to happen and such so, here we go:  
> I don't really have one. I _try_ to update every other week, but classes start on August 25th for me, so my focus is going to be on school after that. I will try to get chapter 2 out before then, but I have other projects I am working on so, we'll see. 
> 
> Okay, I hope that wasn't too much, I like to ramble a little in my notes.  
>  **Edit:** I changed the summary because I didn't really like the first one. I might change it again, who knows.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo has a nightmare and Jesse is having fun messing with Hanzo in their twisted game of hide-and-seek when Talon attacks both of them. Someone gets fired, and someone else gets their suspicions confirmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided to use quotations for the Japanese language to denote when Hanzo and Genji speak it. I know it doesn't work for all languages, but when available I will try to use those different quotations instead of tagging "in Japanese" behind it. 
> 
> I will have note it at the beginning of every chapter, since this is the first one I decided to kind of explain why. For Japanese I have found that 「」are the quotation marks used, and it's what I am going to use. 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter

 

The sound of metal clanging together was a sound forever changed to the archer. His muscles get tense and his palms start to sweat as he would try to find a source of this noise even if he was sure the source wasn’t two swords in battle. He never flinched at the sound however, his outer appearance remained collected as it always was despite his inner demons shouting at him that he should run and hide.

**_It’s your fault you’re like this._ **

Hanzo’s eyes widened slightly as he looked around as if a sheet had been lifted from his head. The room was familiar. He was in Hanamura, the training dojo that was in the back of the garden specifically. A place he spent too much time in as a boy. Mats were on the ground and he only had seconds to react until a robotic training dummy swung down at him.

The archer reacted by raising the object in his hands and paused. A sword. He met his own scared eyes within the reflection of the blade, his firm grip on the familiar weapon started to loosen. He dropped it and backed up to the point his back touched the thin paper walls behind him.

Something warm ran down his face as the room grew darker. The stomach of the older Shimada dropped as what was once the training dummy, was now a broken man lying in a puddle of his own blood in front of him. Bright green hair poked out in places, not yet stained by the end of the blade Hanzo was once holding.

“G-Genji,” he muttered under his breath as he stared shaking. He shook his head as he fell to his knees, his legs unable to support his weight anymore. “G-gomen'nasai,” he muttered quietly his voice cracking as he was no longer able to hold back his trembling.

_The world is changing once again, Hanzo, and it’s time to pick a side._

Hano froze and looked up quickly, the piece of hair he always had loose fell in front of his face as he looked around. The dojo was gone. The sword was gone. Everything was gone, in a void of darkness around him. There was nothing. He looked around panicked, trying to find the source of the voice, recognizing it instantly and saw Genji standing behind him. This time he was in the cybernetic body that Hanzo had just met about a month prior.

No one moved for a few agonizing seconds.

Slowly, the archer stood up, looking down and realizing that before his legs were flesh, and that the metal feet he had grown accustomed to were back. Everything seemed to have aged forward about a decade in a matter of seconds. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the gentle tug of the ribbon in his hair as it was blowing in the wind of the darkness around him.

It was his fault his brother looked like that. Just as it was his fault that he would never feel the fresh dew on the morning grass every morning under his feet. His shoulders felt heavy as he slowly lifted his chin and looked toward Genji.

“Genji –“ Hanzo stopped as the man turned toward him. Even without eyes the stare was intense, and it stopped him short. He simply bowed his head toward his brother. Slowly, the machine clad Shimada raised his hand and pulled the mask off, his eyes meeting Hanzo’s.

_Perhaps I am a fool to think there is still hope for you. But I do._

Hanzo was expecting him to stare him down with anger burning in his eyes. This wasn’t the case. They were soft, carefree like the brother he remembered. From what he saw on his face, the scaring he knew existed was gone. He slowly reached out with his left hand, the metal coating his body slowly disappearing to reveal the young, full of life Genji he remembered who spent more time in clubs than he did back at home.

Hope. That was something that was foreign to Hanzo. For years he has locked himself away from anyone who showed him the smallest bit of kindness, claiming he hadn’t deserved it no matter what he had done. It was only in the past 3 years had he decided to take up how bow again and be an assassin. There was still a pit of empty in his chest and stomach, and seeing his brother alive simply reopened old wounds.

_Think on that brother._

Cherry blossom petals started raining between and around them. Genji turned and looked around, finally breaking eye contact. He smiled and chuckled a little. The hand he had reached out toward Hanzo retracted as he gently scooped up a petal and looked at it. He then turned back to his elder brother and walked over. His hand was cold and soft as he took one of Hanzo’s wrists, placing the petal in Hanzo’s palm, closing his fist around it.

He then winked as Hanzo looked down at his hand.

When he looked up, Genji was gone.

Hanzo woke up suddenly. His hair fell in front of his eyes before he broke down crying, his heart heavy and all the sins of his past crawling down his back.

\---

“G’mornin’,” McCree’s casual drawl slurred out as the cowboy stepped outside his hotel. Without missing a beat, his head was lightly tossed back toward the corner of the building, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. Hanzo paused and walked out from behind the corner to see the smoking cowboy staring straight at him. Childishly, he crossed his arms and turned away with a quiet huff, hating how easily he had been found. “Y’all might be good at foolin’ the normal fella, but I am used to this. You’re good, but y’all gotta be better to get ol’ Jesse.” A light chuckle escaped from the cowboy’s abdomen as he pushed up the brim of his hat with thumb.

The archer raised an eyebrow and a ghost of smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. The cowboy had no idea how despite how much he hated losing this twisted game of hide-and-seek, he was actually enjoying himself. He loved a challenge and his cowboy was proving to be just that. Proudly, he let his arms fall back to his sides. His expression wasn’t giving anything away, as he walked over to Jesse. His gaze was pointed across the street, standing shoulder to shoulder to “ol’ Jesse” looking up at him out of the corner of his eyes as he opened his mouth to speak. “You are a worthy adversary McCree,” he said as a breeze passed through the streets. He then turned and walked into a crowd of people, and in a very cinematic move, disappeared.

Jesse chuckled once again and looked around for a second, exhaling a cloud of smoke. Like the archer, he was enjoying their little game. He too wasn’t one to shy away from a challenge. Hanzo did a good job disappearing, he had to give credit where credit was due. He honestly had no idea where his new archer friend was. That meant, he had an opportunity for some fun. To try to draw him out, he decided to change is routine. Every day since he’d arrived it was the same, and if Hanzo was waiting ahead for him to walk by, him not showing up might make him slip up.

Jesse honestly doubted it, but it was worth a shot. All a part of the game after all. Sure this game had higher stakes than the normal run-of-the-mill hide-and-seek, him losing meant he was dead, but he had no intention of losing. He turned to the left and started walking casually, his spurs tinging loudly due to his heavy footsteps as he walked along the sidewalk, looking for any sign of a gold ribbon.

Hanzo, wasn’t anticipating anything from the cowboy. He was on the roof across the street from where they had their morning chat, arrow loaded, ready to be pulled back and released. The tension-release cycle of the arrow wasn’t going to be in motion just yet fortunately. McCree was going to be suspicious for the next couple of days and though he could attack, it would be foolish. Despite being ready to go through his head with an arrow as planned, the archer decided that typical techniques to subdue the cowboy simply weren’t going to work.

McCree was expecting an assassin, someone who stayed out of sight and didn’t cause attention. He was expecting exactly what Hanzo was currently doing. Stay out of sight, but close by in the shadows waiting to an opportunity where McCree’s guard was down before he struck again. The problem now was that the cowboy knew the archer had skill comparable to his, his guard was never going to go down. He might’ve surprised him last night with his quick reflexes and quick draw, but that was only giving the cowboy more information on himself. He had to rethink his entire strategy.

Let the challenge begin.

Hanzo put the arrow back in his quiver as McCree stopped walking at the corner of the street. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Hanzo knelt down on the corner of the roof he was using as a vantage point and tightened the gauntlet he had on his draw arm. It served as something to strengthen the pull he was able to give with the hand, making shots that he fired deadlier. Though it only helped strengthen his wrist and first few fingers, it would still be formidable in a fist fight, and with Jesse’s prosthetic, he didn’t want to take any chances.

The archer realized the chance of a fistfight was slim when he finally turned his complete focus back to the cowboy. Normally, there was a casual aura surrounding the cowboy, making him seem approachable. His shoulders would be relaxed, his hands would lightly swing by his sides, or if he was stationary as he was currently, the metal one would be in his pocket and the other at his side ready to take the cigarillo from his mouth to tap off the ashes.

Not this.

Currently, he was standing, boots planted on the ground, loose fabric of the serape was pushed away from his shooting arm, most of it gathering over his prosthetic. His holster was in full view, the hand hovering over it, his fingers twitching every few seconds. His back remained to Hanzo however, leading him to believe it wasn’t him that was going to be the target of his bullets. If it was, he was more than positive McCree would be disguising his intentions, or just letting them fly.

Nothing seemed odd when he looked around from his perch on the rooftop. People were still walking through the streets going to where they were needed, where they worked, taking care of some shopping. There were no uniforms that caught his eye that weren’t the typical police uniforms. The air was eerily still however. This day wasn’t going to pass peacefully.

Hanzo let his feet make the smallest click when he decided to jump down to alert his target of his presence. McCree twitched slightly, showing that he had heard him. One of his hands were reaching for his arrows, and seeing how there was no gun, no arrows would be needed. Still, if McCree was on edge, it wouldn’t hurt to be armed. Taking an arrow out, he got his hands close to the positions they needed to be in order to shoot as he took a single step toward Jesse. “McC-“

“Shh,” Jesse said, his left hand shooting out straight to his side to prevent Hanzo from passing him. “Quiet now.” Hanzo felt the corners of his mouth twitch. No problem. There was a sarcastic comment on how Jesse was asking Hanzo of all people to be quiet, but he decided to bite it off, letting it remain unsaid as he cautiously took another step. “I ain’t gon’ shoot you. Ain’t you I am worried bout. If you were gon’ shoot be, ya’d’ve done it by now.”

“You’re correct,” he said his voice barely heard in the street. Unlike McCree’s that, though was quieter than it was the night before, was still loud in comparison. They were feeling the same inkling in the pit of their stomachs. Jesse knew it, and so did Hanzo. Carefully, Hanzo got closer, deciding to stand by him and follow the taller man’s gaze, his arrow pointed behind the two of them his hands ready to pull back and release.

He saw nothing in the streets, but Jesse’s eyes were darting everywhere, every time something new moved. Watching him, Hanzo was now less shocked that Jesse knew where he was the night before. The ribbon in his hair moved with the wind. If it had been caught in the moonlight, it would’ve alerted the alert cowboy of his presence. Given his target’s history, Hanzo should’ve taken account for it to begin with, but he had opted not to, presumably wanting to make his own entertainment out of this job subconsciously.

The air suddenly became cold. The archer’s stomach squeezed as a familiar feeling came over him. Eyes, everywhere, watching though none were to be seen. Jesse got more tense, Hanzo’s chin raised slightly as they looked at one another as if getting a silent confirmation that they were both feeling the same thing. They then both turned around and jumped to the side.

A gunshot rang through the air as the cement where they both were standing cracked from the force of a bullet. Hanzo released the arrow he had loaded as McCree drew his gun, turning the safety off and keeping the barrel pointed to the ground. They both tensely watched the arrow as it split through the air. It was shot blindly, yet both were hoping it would find it’s mark. The quiet whistle of the arrow was drowned out by another shot. One second the arrow was there, the second gone.

The next thing Hanzo knew his hand was grabbed and he was pulled into an alley and then pushed him down. Before he could protest, the cowboy covered him with his body as the ground shook. His ears popped as an explosion lit up the sky. The shockwave hit his chest like he had jumped into a wall, winding him. Jesse’s back was covered in dust. A few debris from the explosion, mostly small bits of wood and metal, rained from the sky. It wasn’t enough to pierce his armor, and with Hanzo showing half his chest, he took it on himself to protect him.

“Y’all okay?” he asked as he pushed himself onto his knees. To himself, the words leaving his own mouth were muffled. He could only imagine how unclear he was to the archer, and the slightly narrowed eyes confirmed what he thought. He repeated the question, this time louder. There was a delay but eventually Hanzo seemed to understand.

“Yes,” he responded curtly with a nod. McCree turned to get up, but a slight tug from the archer stopped him. A larger piece of debris flew over their heads. “What’s happening?” Jesse opened his mouth to respond but a few shadows appeared above them. McCree scrambled to his feet and raised his right hand as Hanzo simply got onto his knees and pulled out the number of arrows matching the shadows. Four sharp whistles were unheard to the pair as four bodies lurched forward allowing the arrows to be retrieved. The gunman’s arm slowly lowered with a shrug. He was more than happy to let Hanzo soundlessly take care of everyone. As much as he loved Peacemaker, she would give away their location quickly and he recognized the emblem on the suits of the grunts; Talon.

He sighed shook his head. It was good that he hadn’t shot them. “Well shit, Talon’s here. ‘bout time they look for me,” he said loud enough to Hanzo to just make out what he said. Talon…the name was familiar to the archer, but he wasn’t sure where. He guessed it was another new gang that was popping up and gaining power. He would look it up that night if what they were about to do didn’t yield any answers.

“Well, it was nice savin’ your ass an’ all, but these bastards are attackin’ people and I ain’t one to stand by and let that happen. I’ll see ya when you decide to try to kill me again,” McCree said with a tip of his hat. He pulled out the cylinder of his gun, making sure it was loaded before cocking his gun and leaving the archer to himself.

“You were supposed to kill him, not aid him,” came a heavy French accented voice. Hanzo’s head shot up as he turned sharply. He lowered his body as he stared at one of the two people who hired him. A woman walked to the edge of the roof, a sniper rifle resting on her shoulder as she put her hand on her hip. Widowmaker was her name if he recalled correctly. “I knew we should have taken care of it ourselves. Reaper said to reach out, that he was expecting us.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Considered your contract canceled.” Hanzo looked at her and stood up as he slowly pulled an arrow out of his quiver.

“No worries, I didn’t need your money, simply your challenge. There will be others I assure you.” He inspected the tip of his arrow before looking at her with cold eyes. “However, you attacked me in your attempts to harm McCree. You don’t want to make an enemy of me as well.” Hanzo looked at her dangerously in the eye, his narrowing slightly. The sniper smirked and shot a grabbling hook from her wrist and jumped off the building without another word. Hanzo sighed and bowed his head, McCree was going to need support. With an explosion that big, there was bound to be a lot of foot soldiers, and he honestly was feeling very petty and didn’t want Talon to have the pleasure of ending the cowboy’s life when he was there.

The archer jumped up onto the roof and started running toward the explosion, keeping an eye and an ear out for anything that sounded like McCree. Whether it was the rush of battle, or the damage done was minor, his hearing was thankfully clearing up quickly. That was going to be useful, Jesse didn’t strike him as a quiet fighter, and being able to hear that loud American before Widowmaker was imperative at that moment.

He had no idea how the cowboy was going to react to his sudden change in objective. It wasn’t everyday an assassin was fired and decided to help who was formerly their target. He had his hopes pinned on the fact Jesse’s past was as colorful as his own and wouldn’t object to having someone, even someone who not even 24 hours prior was ready to shoot through his head, to have his back.

A gunshot caught his attention as Hanzo immediately altered his course. He jumped down and shot a Talon member through the helmet as he landed a few feet behind the cowboy, his back to him. A dark, almost sadistic chuckle came from the man he was trusting not to shoot him with everyone else. “Howdy partner, have you decided to use this opportunity to shoot me?” he asked with a smirk clear in his voice. He shot a few members in front of him as Hanzo danced between two grunts who charged at him. He shot them in the back before they got close to Jesse.

“Quite the opposite. It seems my contractors have turned on me and terminated their need for my services. They also shot at me,” he said sourly as he lowered his arms for a moment as he moved to close the distance between the two of them. “No one crosses a Shimada and walks away unharmed.” A low rumble was felt in his back, McCree laughing at him, this time lighter, amused by Hanzo’s pettiness it seemed.

“If that means we’re doin’ the whole ‘enemy of my enemy is my friend’ shin-dig I am all for it.” Hanzo grunted in affirmation.

“I’ll take the rooftops. I’ll be more useful out of the frontlines where no one can see me,” Hanzo said after letting an arrow fly. “I will stay close.”

“Sure thing. You fight the way you know how. One thing though, I have some guys comin’ you won’t be able to miss ‘em considerin’ that everyone else has a uniform. Either way, try not to shoot ‘em. If ya do, I won’t hear the end of it for at least a year.” The archer made another noise signaling he heard him, a mixture of yes in his first language and a chuckle before jumping onto the rooftops and disappearing from battle. Jesse, though was confident alone, felt a little safer knowing there was someone looking out for him.

\---

McCree turned and shot someone, moving his head slightly out of the way as an arrow flew past him. The metal arrowhead narrowly missed his cheek. Once the shock of almost being shot by his supposed ally, he lowered his shooting arm. He turned toward Hanzo who had a confident smirk on his face. He had to give it to the man, his time observing was showing in how he was treating this battle. He was confident in Jesse’s awareness which was heightened more than it was normally due to being in a fight. That didn’t mean he was aware of every detail of the fight. “Watch it wouldja? I might be aware of shit, but it don’ mean I am necessarily payin’ all that much attention to you sweetheart.”

“I was confident you would move, and I was correct,” he called calmly as he let another five arrows fly in rapid succession. “If I wasn’t I would warn you. Like now. McCree, stand back.” Jesse opened his mouth to ask why, but a cluster of Talon started running his way as Hanzo pulled an arrow out and turned toward him. He decided to save his showing off for later and allowed Hanzo to do what he was planning on, running a few feet back. Hanzo shot an arrow that splintered and hit a crowd of enemies, taking them all down.

A low whistle escaped the cowboy. “Nice shot,” was all he could say.

“I’d say the same thing mate!” came the perky voice of Lena as she seemed to appear out of nowhere. Jesse jumped and turned toward her. “We heard about Talon. Don’t worry love, the Calvary’s here!” She winked behind her goggles and ran off. Hanzo looked at McCree for an explanation.

“My friends I was tellin’ ya about. Part of an organization called Overwatch, we just got back together a short time ago. Only… we ain’t legal if I heard right,” he said as he shot a Talon member behind him without looking. “That there was Tracer, and if I am a bettin’ man I’d say Mercy and a certain ninja I think you will like should be here too.”

“Yup!” said the one introduced as Tracer as she ran by shooting. Hanzo jumped down as a woman in white armor walked over holding what appeared to be a staff. An odd weapon, but he had no room to judge.

“Who’s your friend Jesse?” asked the woman in white armor one could guess given context was Mercy. Hanzo looked her over, she was outfitted for battle, but her weapons weren’t fit for combat. He made a mental note to watch her a little more closely as she was likely support and would likely need it. Her time was going to be spent making sure they remained fit for battle, something he personally didn’t have patience for.

“This here is-“

“Shimada Hanzo,” came a voice causing Hanzo to visibly immediately stiffen upon recognizing it. The archer had his eyes locked on someone. “As much as I’d love to introduce my brother on better terms, Talon agents are all over the city. That is our priority.” Genji stood at the roof of a building looking down on them. Well there is was explicitly said. Jesse’s gut was right on their relationship.

He wouldn’t lie, a part of him wanted to turn and raise his gun toward the archer, who attempts to kill their own brother? Jesse wasn’t going to put too much blame onto Hanzo however. The other part of him understood more than anyone, Hanzo was just doing what he knew how to do after all. Both brothers grew up in crime from what Genji had said. McCree did as well, and knowing how that ended, he understood why Hanzo acted the way he did. Genji wasn’t going to seek revenge on his brother, and he was going to take his word that Hanzo was punishing himself enough. Still, he had a message he wanted to get through to the archer once time permitted.

 “ _He’s_ your brother?” Tracer exclaimed. “Oh my god mate! I never thought I’d meet’cha!” She said smiling completely ignoring the unsaid tension between the Shimada brothers. She ducked as someone shot at her. “Oops! We’ll have to talk later love!” She giggled and ran off. Hanzo stood speechless for a moment, only glancing at Tracer as she spoke to him. His attention was secured by Genji.

「Brother, let us take out the mass of them with the dragons. I have found where their base is. The dragons will end this quicker, and three dragons are better than one,」Genji said using their native tongue. Hanzo hesitated and looked around quickly, his eyes darting around nervously. 「Brother, it’s okay. No one is going to shoot you know thay they know.」 Hanzo paused and took a deep breath, his grip on the bow tightening. Jesse pressed his lips together, seeing exactly what was going on.

「I will fight alongside you Genji, but I am not returning with you, 」Hanzo said before jumping to join his brother on the roof. There was no use fighting with him at that moment. His brother was right. They were greatly outnumbered and stopping the attack at the source was the best course of action. 

「I wasn’t going to ask you to. I understand you are still coming to terms with everything.」 The two disappeared leaving Jesse in the center of town with Mercy.

“Did you know that was who was hunting you?” Mercy asked as Jesse shot someone behind her, no stranger to having ally bullets flying past her for her protection.

“Yeah. The look in his eyes, it’s familiar,” he responded casually as he turned to cover his own back.

“It’s because you used to have the same look.” Jesse paused looking at her before the sight of three dragons running through a building, shattering all the windows as it passed through. Two silhouettes stood in front of it, each having a ribbon that danced through. Both stood confidently, but one was slightly turned toward the other, taking the smallest step away from his brother.

“I did…an’ I still do. That look ain’t somethin’ that just goes away Angela,” he said sadly as he pulled his hat down. He pulled out a cigarillo and lit it, taking a deep inhale. The path of redemption was long and winding. It never seemed to end either. Jesse hated it, but seeing Hanzo confirmed one thing, he wasn’t the only one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay if I don't update before the 25th you have my full permission to bug me on tumblr. I don't want to go on a pseudo hiatus without you guys knowing the ending of this fight. I hope that my editing didn't slip up too much given the chapter length and the fact my chronic illness has been flaring up bad these past couple of days and I was working on this as a distraction from everything. 
> 
> Thank-y'all for reading so far, I hope y'all are liking it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanzo gets shot trying to save McCree and is taken to their base in Spain where he is offered a job, and offered a chance to have a real conversation with his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am using < < > > for spanish. I now it's more of a European Spanish thing where Jesse and Reyes speak Latin Spanish, but for the purposes of making the quotes different, it'll do.
> 
> 「」are Japanese quotations

_Foolish._

_He was foolish, he should’ve seen it coming._

_The cold icy feeling of death hung in the air should’ve been the first sign that he should not have put more time in watching and less time fighting. With his experience he should know that the environment plays just as much of a role in battle, as the fighters themselves._

Hanzo lowered his shooting arm after letting an arrow fly from his fingers brow drawing together in confusion at a sudden change in the atmosphere that crept over. The air around him turned cold, not physically. The sweat running down his face and back could attest to that, but it certainly didn’t feel like it fit in the heat of battle. It begged him to slow. Slow his movement, slow his thinking and that was the one thing he couldn’t afford to do.

From his perch on the rooftops, everything appeared to be fine in terms of how the battle was fairing. Other than a small injury with Tracer getting clipped by a bullet that was now being taken care of by Mercy, no one else was injured, they were doing good. The enemy had gained no ground on them, and if anything they were slowly pushing the others back. They were by all definitions of the word winning.

The assassin in him wanted to sneak off from the battlefield and see what he could find, but watching how careless and erratic the man below him was fighting, he knew if he left without warning he was going to get shot in the back. Jesse McCree might be aware of an enemy was behind him, he might be aware that they had cocked their weapon and were about to squeeze the trigger, but he was counting on his killer-turned-ally to have his back. Calling out his plan was also an ill choice in action, he didn’t want attention turned onto himself either. The unsettling feeling was going to have to wait, if it persisted after Mercy was done healing Tracer, he would ask her about calling either his brother or the newly healed member of their group back to help McCree not get killed.

_He should’ve just gone and investigate. He might’ve seen him coming and would be able to get both him and McCree to safety. No, he was foolish and decided to stay._

After a few minutes Hanzo jumped down and shot an arrow between the space of McCree’s hand that was raised in the air, and his head, hitting an agent in the head, shattering the helmet and throwing him back by the force behind the arrow. A low whistle and a compliment to his shot was heard behind him as Hanzo turned and danced around a bullet, shooting another enemy.

Watching McCree up close, Hanzo decided that whatever feeling he felt, McCree didn’t. The man was almost jovial during battle, like he was free from having to behave the way he was supposed to which was strange given that during the time he was observing him, he seemed to walk around with a weight on his shoulders. Was this from his days in Deadlock? If he was trying to repent as he was told, shouldn’t these actions be held carefully? Hanzo stopped thinking about that for the moment; that was a train of thought to be traveled at another time.

_Foolish._

The cold, almost ghostly feel to the atmosphere got worse after a few minutes, a dark shadow spilled out into the streets. The archer’s dark eyes widened as he took the smallest step backward, quickly turning his foot as to plant it onto the ground upon remembering his training. Some of the Talon agents looked up and smirked, knowing what was coming. Hanzo loaded an arrow as a figure came out from the shadows, instantly recognizing him as another one of his former employers. The cracking mask of calm he was wearing shattered the second he realized the arrow phased through the being. Whatever this was, it wasn’t human. He took a few more steps back, loading his bow as a last measure to keep himself still on the battlefield.

“Death, walks among you,” The figure breathed in a low barely resonating voice as it stepped forward past the front line of grunts. Another arrow was released and it phased right through the man, embedding itself in one of the men behind him. Hanzo watched as two heavy-handed shotguns were pulled out, both trained on McCree. He said something else, the only real word that stood out for Hanzo was _vaquero_ mostly due to the fact McCree finally turned around at it. The rest was in a language Hanzo vaguely recognized as Spanish.

_Foolish._

McCree’s jovial attitude toward the fight instantly evaporated as he was looking down the barrels of the shotguns. There was only one person who spoke to him like the shadow-man was. The sounds of guns firing around him fell on deaf ears as he was trying to figure out how _he_ of all people was there. The corners of his mouth fell as he emptied the empty casings of the bullets he’d expended and slowly reloaded. Completely numb to the fact his end was approaching. He exhaled a small cloud of smoke, not even looking at the man in front of him, his hat hiding just as much of his view as his face.

**_FOOLISH._ **

“McCree!” Hanzo’s voice was the only thing that broke him out of his daze. Everything registered at once, the bullets firing, him getting roughly shoved to the dirt below him, and the archer taking the hits that were supposed to be his. The vigilante reached out to prevent Hanzo from getting in the way, but the man was already falling back from the momentum of the bullets being transferred to him.

Hanzo was shot.

Release.

Everything seemed to speed up after that. Without realizing it, the gun in his right hand was reloaded and he caught the archer as he unloaded three shots into the figure. He felt his serape billowing behind him, his right arm stretched out. He looked at the man cloaked in black and smirked. <<Nice to see you haven’t changed,>> McCree said bowing his head slightly so his hat obscured his face once again, hiding his clenched teeth and worried lines in his face, emotions his deep confident voice were covering up in a convincing manner. He needed to call Mercy, Hanzo was hit pretty bad.

Hanzo was in a daze that consisted mostly of pain. He knew what he had done for his wellbeing was foolish. He honestly had no idea why he had done it. This wasn’t his first time working with a team. He found his feet moving before he knew what was happening. Like McCree’s attitude during a fight, he decided that now wasn’t the best time to figure out his motives. Stay awake, that is what he should focus on. He decided to focus on what they were saying above him. His strength was fading, and he ended up weakly cursing quietly in Japanese when he found that he couldn’t understand what he thought was English anymore, the fact they were speaking Spanish going completely unnoticed.

McCree, now having collected himself enough to look the new attacker in the mask, spared Hanzo a glance, he had to move. Hanzo had to get out of the line of fire now or else he was going to bleed out. He knew exactly who this newcomer was, honestly it was the weapons that gave him away. He knew in a gun fight that though he was more accurate, the shadow of a man before him was better one on one. There was a reason he was using hand shotguns and he a revolver.    

<<I haven’t taught you all of my tricks,>> responded the shadow as he trained his shotguns onto the cowboy once again. A chuckle came from his target as a faint click was heard, loading his own gun and getting ready to fire.

<<Yeah, but you don’t know all of mine.>> McCree quickly put Peacekeeper in its holster and pulled out a flashbang. He pulled out the pin and threw it at the ground as he pulled Hanzo to his chest and ran out of the onslaught of bullets that now marked the spot where he stood. “It’s alright sweetheart, we’ll take care of ya, don’t worry.” McCree moved to activate his earpiece as he ran. “Mercy, we gotta man down, and a Reaper on the loose.” Hanzo tried his hardest to stay conscious through it all, but eventually he succumbs to the lull of sleep.

Tension…. release

Nothing.

_Foolish._

\---

Warmth. He felt warmth surround him. His arms were cold, but majority of his body was warm. Slowly moving his fingers, he found that he was covered in some sort of blanket. Heated perhaps. It’d been a while since he had one. It was nice.

Hanzo groaned and moved his arm to his forehead, what happened? Consciousness was slowly returning to him, he was awake according to brainwaves, but his body was slow to respond to his movements, and it was screaming, protesting every slight move he made, his abdomen especially was throbbing in pain. His head wasn’t too far behind. It was like he was drinking all over again, but the pain was worse, a lot worse. There was a fog rolling through his mind his thoughts were jumbled and incoherent. He knew if he started talking it would be next to impossible to understand in his current state. Desperately he tried to piece together what had happened as he slowly lifted his arm and looked around the room, deciding he had enough of the dark.

He was laying down in a cool, sterile smelling room. A white light was almost blinding considering the darkness that was the back of his eyelids. A hospital? Once he was able to focus and stand the lights around him, he was laying on a very comfortable cot, and there were a few others on either side of him. A clinic perhaps? It was clear this was some sort of medical facility of some kind. There were no logos on the walls, or the sliding door in front of the bed he was staying in to identify the place. He also noticed he was in a thin cotton gown instead of his _kyudo-gi_ and his hair was down. He didn’t remember changing; he did remember getting shot however.

“You’re awake,” said a gentle voice startling him slightly. His muscled tensed involuntarily and he bit off a groan, no need to show his captors that he was in pain. He slowly turned toward it seeing a woman dressed in all white. The tone of voice suggested that she was the doctor of this establishment, and her accent clearly marked her as not American, Swiss? German? European that much he was sure. She was familiar, the medic from the battle? Her features appeared to match the Mercy he vaguely remembered. “How is your pain level?” Hanzo blinked a few second and then paused as he took a moment to make sure that when he responded it would be a language they had in common.

“It is, manageable,” he said slowly noticing he had an IV in his arm.  Hospital, definitely a hospital, he concluded A small one, but it served as one. The pain was ebbing, coming and going in small waves, but it was as he said. He knew that he was either midway or getting close to the end of whatever cycle of pain meds he was on. Meaning he knew it wasn’t going to be too much longer before he was asked again and he said he would be in more pain and something would either be given to him, or pumped into his arm. He sighed before he tried to sit up, hissing in pain before falling back.

“You were shot in the stomach, please lay back down. I will have you back to your feet in a few days, and you can then decide what your plan is.” Mercy reached over him and pressed a button on the bed, raising him up to a laid-back seated position, enough to where he could comfortably look around and be somewhat upright, but not enough to aggravate whatever was done to repair his stomach. He seemed to debate whether or not he was going to allow this woman to take care of him. Given that every limb in his body felt heavy, he couldn’t follow a train of thought for more than thirty seconds, and that he felt like he was going to expel whatever remained in his stomach, he nodded and relax into the cushion underneath him.

“Where am I?” he asked looking at the ceiling with his hands lightly placed on his stomach. Might as well try to get some answers while he was incapacitated. They obviously weren’t trying to kill him; it would’ve been done before he had woken up. His voice was slightly hoarse, and his throat itched a lot the more he used it.

He felt the small bumps associated with bandages on his torso, confirming that he was in fact shot, or at the very least injured in his stomach if he chose not to believe what he was told. Given the nature of battles, the last clear memory he had, assuming it was a bullet was a reasonable conclusion. He moved his ankle and found that his legs were still on, something he was grateful for. They weren’t meant to come off, he had to have the right tools for that, and he doubted that whoever had taken him did.

“Gibraltar. I’m Angela Ziegler, or Mercy.  We met briefly in Indiana. Jesse McCree was with you when you got shot, and we took you with us to the only base we have that isn’t run-down and forgotten. Do you remember what happened?” Angela had introduced herself with a small bow of the head, as if attempting to be respectful to his culture. Hanzo hummed and looked at her. Mentioning the place where he just was, seemed to set off a few memories to break through the fog left by the anesthesia.

Flashes in his mind of his stay in America, shooting McCree, missing, their stand-off. Him getting fired the next day by Widowmaker, the battle he was fighting in pure spite, him getting shot. Reaper? The last one was fuzzy, unsure if he could trust that memory or not as it was after he foolishly jumped in front of the bullets of the gun. Regardless, it was more to work with, which he was grateful.

“Thank-you for taking care of me despite my past affiliation with Talon.” His skepticism did not excuse bad manners, especially since even his memories, though muddled still, backed up the claims that the doctor was making.

“Jesse told us about it, he said your heart wasn’t into it and once they turned against you, you turned against them in return. An ally is an ally no matter what their circumstances are. He was adamant we help you once you had gotten shot. Still, I apologize this even happened.” Her voice dipped down, almost hinting at guilt for what happened. If she was guilty about him getting shot, then she had no reason to, she was doing her job to the best of her abilities at the time. He hummed in agreement and didn’t prompt anymore conversation.  

Hanzo sighed and laid his head back, closing his eyes, he got shot trying to save a dumb cowboy, supposedly. He knew that eventually someone was going to ask about his motives, and honestly he didn’t have a solid answer that he was satisfied with telling everyone. He did what he did because it felt like it was the right thing to do. Morally? Probably not, He had saved McCree plenty of times that could count for any of the times McCree had saved him. At that moment in time Jesse McCree was an ally, and as an ally he couldn’t simply sit back and let him get shot by an enemy that couldn’t be hurt by his arrows. The man posing as Genji, should he really be Genji, would be the first to speak out against that reason. Hanzo didn’t simply save people because it was the right thing to do, ally or otherwise. He had simply acted.

That was another thing that was bothering him at that moment. Genji, or rather that cybernetic being with Genji’s eyes and abilities. He didn’t believe a word it had said toward him being his brother, the same one that still haunted his guilt-ridden dreams. He simply worked with it simply because it had a sound plan, and in the end it worked. If this being was truly Genji, or was simply interested in convincing him that he was Genji, it would seek him out, then he will simply question it, have it answer things that only his younger brother would know. Then, he will evaluate the likelihood that it is truly the brother he lost all those years ago.

 A knock at the door stirred him from his thoughts. “Is the fella awa-hell yeah he is. Hey,” the cowboy said, still wearing a variation of what he wore outside. A white t-shirt, jeans, boots and his sarape that appeared to be freshly washed. His hat was absent surprisingly. His face went from relaxed to a slightly tense frown, his brow slightly furrowed. The man’s tan face seemed to age as he walked toward the archer’s bed, apparently there were hard feelings with the whole assassination attempt.

“Good day,” Hanzo said cautiously, not knowing just how upset McCree was going to be at him for attempting to kill him. He seemed to have taken it in good spirits back in Indiana. Like it was all simply a game, but apparently he was wrong. He bowed his head respectively. “I would like to thank you for-“ he cut off once he hear a series of clicks he was all too familiar with. There was a beeping heard near him, a monitor alerting the doctor that his heartrate was up.

Tension.

Slowly after a few seconds, the Japanese man looked up just enough to look his shooter in the eyes. He wanted at least to have the pleasure of locking eyes with the cowboy if this was his end. His hair slowly falling over his shoulders as he looked down the dark barrel of a pistol aimed right at his forehead. There was barely three inches between him and the exit of the bullet should it come. It was cold, the sensation radiating off of the metal. McCree’s eyes were dark as Hanzo shifted his gaze to the grizzled man. The eyes of a man who has killed, and isn’t done killing. A man who had a definition of what was good, and another for what was bad, and apparently Hanzo fell into the latter category. Eventually, the injured man started to relax, his shoulders fell, his eyes relaxing slightly as the beeping next to him stopped, his heartrate slowing down to a healthier level. Resolve. If Jesse McCree was going to kill him right there, he would allow it.

Jesse McCree saw the change in the man’s eyes but made no move to lower his gun, simply raising his head ever so slightly in interest. He recognized the look, he had it himself once. It was different receiving the look rather than giving it. Before he made up his mind to raise his pistol to help people instead of harming, when he was a Blackwatch grunt at 17 he wouldn’t have minded dying. Hell, even before that when Gabriel Reyes himself had him tied down in a chair a gun pointed at him to shut his juvenile rage filled mouth he had this look. Right now, the man in front of him laid steadfast, ready to embrace death proudly if that was his fate.

“If you’re going to shoot, do it already,” He said his voice strong, unwavering. Honestly, given what McCree knew of this man, he deserved to be dead. He almost killed his brother, and not even 48 hours ago this situation was reversed. Angela wouldn’t stop him even if she didn’t know what was going on, she understood why he would be holding a grudge against the elder Shimada. No one would bat an eye if he saved this man only to get rid of him himself, they honestly would cough it up to Deadlock influences, or _other_ influences that no one was ready to talk about.

The thing that was preventing him from shooting was he saw a lot of himself in Hanzo. He saw the darkness in the man’s eye that signaled that he was lost. He was at that point to where he had the choice to change the path his life was going, or to continue what he was doing and wait for the consequences to catch up to him. The latter path was the easier, but the promise that the former held was almost too good to pass up. For Jesse the promise was living somewhere that wasn’t a small box. The promise was to be around some other people who understood what he had chosen to do and that he was finally looking to turn his life around. He was tired of the outlaw life, too bad Blackwatch wasn’t the entire answer he was looking for.

Everything the man laying weakly in the bed in front of him did was thought through to the extent he was confident the move he made was the right one. “Right” wasn’t a moral thing for him, right was something that would give him the highest profit, whether it be money or his life. He was a man with a heavy burden on his shoulders as well. Guilt that weighed a ton. Guilt that no amount of good behavior would repay, especially since the only way to deal justice out was to stay on the same level as he already was, just having a fancy name painted on it that make it okay. He was lost, trying to dig himself up high enough to where he could change what he was doing. Jesse couldn’t kill a guy for that. Well he could, he just didn’t want to.

Release.

“Nah, I ain’t gonna kill ya,” he said quietly shaking his head before uncocking the pistol and turning the safety on, putting it back into his holster. “Not with that look in your eyes.” Hanzo looked at him, the confusion back, and more pronounced on his face. His dark eyes softened, as they searched for anything in Jesse’s face that showed why the look in his eyes had anything to do with anything. The rest of the tension, more of a bracing for the shot, was released from the archer as he seemed to sink further into the bed he was laying in. He wasn’t going to die? “Ya remind me too much of myself in my twenties. Ain’t right killin’ a man who has no idea what he’s doin’ with his life.” McCree frowned, the kind that wrinkled the chin, and shook his head as he said the latter sentence. He turned away afterwards, not wanting Hanzo to see the conflict in his own face.

“Excuse me?” Hanzo asked hoping that McCree would better explain himself. The cowboy didn’t, simply turned and looked at him with eyes that said he understood what was going on in Hanzo’s life as he moved to sit down in a chair next to his cot. The archer said nothing. There was a mutual understanding between the two of them. Jesse was right on his assessment of the archer, just as he was right on assuming that he and Genji were related.

“Now, don’ get me wrong. If you raise anythin’ up against Genji ya are gonna have more than jus’ me and him to worry ‘bout,” Jesse warned quietly, his gaze locked onto Hanzo. The archer slowly nodded, his shoulders fell, guilt written on his face. It was subtle, but it was there. Bringing up Genji was all Hanzo needed to know that McCree knew what he was thinking.

“I understand.” Though Hanzo wasn’t convinced that Genji was his brother, he still felt guilty for his act. He felt guiltier at the slim possibility that this Genji was his Genji and he was doubting the likelihood of it all. Given his current position it was safer to play along that the cybernetic man was truly the knuckleheaded man he remembered. “He has found strong ties here.”

“That he has. Wadn’t all that way. At first, he was a lot like you. Angry, scared. Sold y’all out quicker than fried twinkies on fair day.” McCree shrugged letting his laid back nature come through. “He eventually came ‘round. I talked to him ‘bout my life, we shared a few stories. Was nice for a while, then the mission was over and we went our separate ways.” Hanzo simply stared at him, signifying with his eyes that he was more than done talking about Genji and who he was in the past, and what he had possibly become. McCree shifted, moving to scratch the back of his head, immediately recognizing the glare because he had given it out himself before.

Jesse sat back in the chair, his hands behind his head and shrugged. He wasn’t going to leave at that moment because he knew where Hanzo was. He was dangerously close to start over thinking everything, making everything worse with his relationship with Genji, possibly ruining it. His refusal to talk about it confirmed as much. If Hanzo ever told him that he held disbelief on Genji truly being his brother, it wouldn’t surprise McCree in the slightest. He knew Hanzo hadn’t reached the breaking point yet, where he’d break down because of how overwhelming the position he currently was in was. The weight of the decision to change or remain how things were was hard. McCree knew that contemplating that while under the influence of pain medication and laying in a hospital bed would make everything worse. So, out of mutual understanding he stayed.

“So uh, thanks for the save back there,” McCree started awkwardly, looking for a reason to remain in the room. “I know how things are when y’all are all shot up to swiss cheese an’ shit. You remember what happened?” Hanzo bowed his head once from his half-laying position, the closest thing to a nod he was going to get. “Sweet. So, uh, I was just checkin’ up on ya. Not everyday someone goes from your killer to your hero ya know?” His voice was lighter, trying his hardest to make casual conversation.

“Not really,” he responded curtly, honestly wanting the complete opposite of what the cowboy did. To Hanzo, their business was done. He was going to heal and then leave. However, he did owe him something for saving him. McCree scratched the back of his neck. Letting the cowboy talk was the least he could do to start repaying the debt. “If you’re here to talk, we might as well get it over with, I am not moving. Dr. Ziegler hasn’t permitted it.” McCree smirked a little and shrugged, taking it as the invitation it was disguised as.

“She’ll do that every now an’ again. ‘Nother thing I was kind of sent here to do, was talkin’ it over with Winston, err the monke-ape fella who is kind of the reason we’re all back together and shit, and he said that if you wanted, there’s a spot on the team for ya.” Hanzo immediately frowned and turned his head away. McCree frowned as well, knowing where this was going. “I told ‘em not to give his hopes up. I didn’t have much of a choice, an’ we ain’t in the position to make it worth your while at this point. He jus’ wanted the offer on the table.”

 “There are things I must do for myself before I attempt to even think about making allegiances. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t,” Hanzo said his words coming out sharper than he intended. Jesse paused and recognized the lines by the corner of Hanzo’s eyes as he spoke. Pressing his lips together, he nodded, seeming to understand.

“Our doors are always gonna be open, even if y’all are just droppin’ in for a visit. Gonna miss that pretty gold ribbon of yours followin’ me around all the time.” The tone of voice suggested McCree would follow it with a wink. The reflective surfaces around Hanzo proved just the opposite. McCree was sitting there with a soft expression, genuinely meaning that he was welcomed, if not missed it seemed. He remained skeptical as he did with everything.

A silent pause took over the two of them. Hanzo actually expected McCree to eventually get the hint that he wasn’t going to be much of conversation, but the longer the silence stayed between them the less convinced he was that McCree was going to leave. Eventually Hanzo sighed and turned back toward the cowboy.

“How long did you know?” he asked hoping that Jesse would understand he meant how long he knew given what the last thing said between the two of them was.

“’Bout two weeks if my mental calendar is right,” he drawled on casually with a shrug. “Then again, I wasn’t exactly lookin’ for ya. I was followin’ a hint that said Talon was gonna attack the buildin’ they blew up. Was gonna try to stop ‘em then Recall happened, so I knew shit was happenin’. Once my guard went up more I had that bein’ followed feelin’. I was just lucky I guess.”  

 “I was following you for three. You have good instincts McCree, there was no luck involved. Only experience.”

“Please, it’s Jesse we’ve saved each other enough yeah?” 

“No.”

Jesse frowned at how curt Hanzo was being without putting any real feeling behind it. It was going to take time to get through to him, and despite how unwilling to communicate Hanzo was being, he was being more of a conversationalist than he thought he was going to be, so that was good.

“He’s not an easy nut to crack Jesse, give him time,” came Genji’s casual voice. “It’s nice to see that you’re awake, brother.” Hanzo nodded and gave his brother a tight lipped smile, the kind you give out of formality more than anything. Genji leaned against the wall. “Jesse give you the offer that everyone knew you’d refuse?” Another nod. “See, told you he’d say no.”

“I know Winston was adamant though. Wouldn’t be the first time a bastard joined Overwatch. Fuck, I bet most of us are in our own way.”

“My brother…has some…troubles he must overcome first. I am sure he gave you a similar story in his refusal.” Hanzo gave his “brother” a small smirk, thankful that he wasn’t saying the obvious, he was the reason Genji could be in a robotic body should he prove himself.

“No, no, I understand. We all got a couple o’ skeletons in the closet. Gotta clean it out every now and again.” Jesse looked between the two of them. “Speaking of, want me to give y’all some time?”

“Please, there are things I would like to tell him, and it would be much more comfortable if we may do so without being rude,” Genji said holding his hands behind his back respectively explaining he was going to speak in Japanese. “I suspect that he has a lot of questions for me, and I have a few of my own.”

“No problemo, was gonna go clean ol’ Peacekeeper.” Jesse stood up and nodded at Hanzo. “Least say goodbye before y’all disappear ya hear?”

“I hear you fine, you’re quite loud McCree.” The cowboy laughed at his unintentional joke as he left.

「 Would you like to hear why I am now in this form?」Genji asked as he took the seat the cowboy was just in.  Hanzo looked at the man who claimed to be his brother and wanted more than anything to push himself up so look him where his eyes should be and ask him straight out who he really was, and why must he torture him so by putting on this act as if he was his brother.

「 I want you to prove to me you are my brother,」 Hanzo muttered unapologetically stern toward this being beside him. The younger Shimada paused and looked at Hanzo with is eyes wide behind his visor. He didn’t put it past his brother to question everything, honestly he would be asking the same thing if he was in Hanzo’s current position. There was a sound not unlike the sound of someone sighing into a microphone without a pop filter as he bowed his head. The body relaxed down from the tense position that mimicked betrayal.

「 Fair enough. Where shall I begin?」Hanzo simply frowned. A part of him wanted to believe that Genji was still alive, but another part of him was scared to face him, and he didn’t know which one he preferred.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Jesse McCree's Southernisms:**  
>  Wadn’t = Wasn't. The "wad" part is pronounced like "What" but the "t" sound is a soft "d" sound like in "could", or "would" Basically we get tired of pronouncing and enunciating and that happens. 
> 
> "Sold y’all out quicker than fried twinkies on fair day" Once a year, typically late September early October the Texas Sate fair opens and fried Twinkies are a big attraction and so they understandably get sold often. In context here, Jesse is saying Genji wasted no time giving out information about the Shimada clan to Overwatch.
> 
>  
> 
> So, I am going to start adding explanations to things McCree says that are blatantly Southern. Being from the south myself, I am aware of some things, but I am basically writing McCree like how people around me talk. So, I might miss some things. If there is something you don't understand let me know and I will explain it. I know English isn't everyone's first language and Southern US English is even more convoluted because we get lazy. 
> 
> Also this chapter is the last scheduled one before I start classes. I know I didn't plan on ending on a cliff-hanger ish part, but I don't even have Hanzo's and Genji's talk written out because I decided to add a chapter for their talk specifically instead of having it here where it was originally. I also want to write more on the draft. 
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genji and Hanzo go down memory lane and talk a little about what Hanzo should do to redeem himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little note: I am using 「」to represent things said in Japanese (meaning all the speech in this chapter because it's all about Genji and Hanzo talking.)
> 
> **Edit:** Sorry I forgot to add this earlier. There is a flashback/story of the past that Genji tells of how Hanzo lost his virginity for the good of the clan and instantly regretting it. The behavior that is described is very much like a rape victim's and that might be triggering for some people so I figured I would add a warning.

_“I want you to prove to me you are my brother.”_ Those were words no one wanted to hear. Though Genji’s stomach should’ve be churning due to Hanzo basically spatting them out toward him in complete disdain at the thought that Genji Shimada – _his_ Genji Shimada was still alive, no reaction was shown in the cyborg’s posture. The sting was very much there, and if asked he would tell anyone that these words hurt worse than his blade. The fact the visor showed none of this pain, was a relief to the younger Shimada. He merely held his hands behind him, his back straightened like he was taught to do in a past life, and nodded once. His head was slightly tilted toward his brother, almost bowing in respect. He understood his hesitancy, but it didn’t mean he had to be happy about it.   

Despite his hair laying limply over his shoulders and across his pale face, making him look pitiful and weak, Hanzo’s eyes were steeled the dragon shining behind them. Stubbornness, distrust, a warning to the cyborg is what Hanzo wanted to be read. Genji saw past this. Caution was the most dominant message that the younger Shimada was able to see. The elder brother was really searching for answers, and explanation. Anything that would solidify Genji’s claim, and answer why he waited 10 years to reach out. Genji could see that Hanzo wanted nothing more than to believe that his brother was still alive, but the way he was taught told him to be suspicious of everything. Don’t take anything for granted, question everyone’s motives.

They stared at one another for what seemed like forever. The only movement between the two of them came from Hanzo as he blinked as he limply laid against the mattress of the bed, his stomach gently rising and falling as he breathes. Genji eventually allowed himself to shift his weight to one side in the chair he was sitting in, rolling his foot to rest on its side for a moment. Hanzo’s dark eyes immediately focused on the gesture and refocused his gaze to the faceplate covering Genji’s face.

「 Simply sitting here isn’t proving me that you are the person you claim to be,」 Hanzo said his voice sharp, hiding all emotions of hope and anticipation in his voice. Genji let his shoulders relax back slightly, hearing that his brother honestly hadn’t changed all that much in the decade was almost a relief. It meant that he knew how to talk to him, what to say and how to say the things that needed to be put on the table between them. He knew Hanzo. He just wanted Hanzo to know him now.  

「 You’re right. I am trying to figure out where to start. I don’t think you want me to start off on an emotional foot bro-Shimada.」 Under the faceplate he bit the inside of his lip. Addressing his brother this formally, as if they were complete strangers was weird. It felt wrong. Hanzo wasn’t some stranger. Hanzo was his brother. A brother shouldn’t be a stranger, and yet that is where they were. A decade separated them. Genji, though could guess how Hanzo had spent the decade, he had so much to tell him about his. Things that Hanzo would never believe that Genji had done.

A story from their childhood immediately popped into his head and he raised his gaze to the older man and slowly began speaking. 「 When I was five, you eight, I found a sparrow’s nest in one of the cherry blossom trees in our garden. It was early morning when I had found them. I don’t actually remember why I was out there, I just remembered that they were loud. They were chirping out for their mother that was nowhere to be seen. I watched it from a safe distance, silently for hours and no mother bird claimed the fledglings. Once the sun started to set, I decided they needed my help. I used my scarf to hold the birds as I carried them inside to show Father. He…」There was a pause as Genji tried to find the right words to describe his father.

Normally he’d use what he truly thought. Their father wasn’t a nice man. He was heartless, tough and would do anything to get his way within reason. Growing up, they never saw the side of their father who would rip a person limb from limb to get his way. They saw the man who had a soft spot for his children, specifically Genji. Eventually, Hanzo was the one who was put under immense pressure to follow this man’s footsteps. That’s when the veil had been uncovered to them. Where Genji was allowed to come and go as he pleased reeking of drugs, alcohol and sex and if anyone said anything the next morning they would be gone without a trace, Hanzo had to do unspeakable things, normally coming home and vomiting for reasons that weren’t having a bad drug trip. Regardless, Hanzo still thought their father was a man worthy of praise, so cursing and dishonoring the man that raised them would do nothing but make Hanzo mad. That is not what Genji wanted to accomplish from this story.

「He wasn’t fond of my little find, 」Genji eventually finished looking down and fiddling with his fingers as he shrugged. 「He ordered me to get rid of the nest, but I wouldn’t listen. Mother was gone at the time; something happening back with the clan of her birth, so I turned to what other family I had: you. I burst into your room, tears streaming down my face with my words barely intelligible as I begged you to help me with these birds. I even told you what Father had said about it, and you hesitated. Eventually you looked at the fledglings and gently held one in your hand and inspected it. You put everything aside for me to set up a space in your room for the birds, right by your window so they could still feel the sun in their feathers. You did the research on how to care for the birds and together we raised them. We hid them in your closet when the maids came in to clean your rooms, but right after I came back and released them from their hiding spot as you were stuck in the library with the tutor to get your studies in for the day. We were eventually found out however, and you took the blame for me. You lied and said that you found me as I was following orders, and took the birds for yourself, raising them in your room in secret. You never said how Father punished you. I later found out he was replacing your normal teacher when it came to sword training, and he was less forgiving. But you put up with the extra cuts and scratches for me, for the birds. The following year four sparrows were found in the garden, tilting their heads at us before landing on our shoulders. They had returned. 」

Hanzo looked toward his brother, blinking a few times, remembering the story fondly. Those birds were where Hanzo started calling his brother Sparrow fondly. Genji had become obsessed with the birds, even after they had left.  

The story caused Hanzo to remember how Genji would wake up at the crack of dawn and the first thing he did was climb out of his bed and tip-toed to the garden to get worms and other bugs from the garden, getting completely covered in mud before the day even began in his excitement. He would then take the pail of bird food he had gathered and scurried into Hanzo’s room to check on the small creatures, his face hovering inches above the nest silently as Hanzo slept. It didn’t take long for the birds to associate the boy running in excitedly to food. They would wake the older brother leaving them both scrambling to mash bugs so that they could eat them without tipping the staff off and alerting their father. Later, they found out that their Nanny and half the house knew, and decided to let the boys be boys, said it was important for them to bond together.

The guarded look in the archer’s eyes faltered a little, a spark of the gentle and kind brother that Genji knew. The brother that helped him care for the birds. The cyborg lifted his head slightly in hope that what he had said was enough to convince Hanzo. His dreams were quickly crushed when Hanzo realized what Genji was doing and the cold distant look returned.

He was still stubborn. The only difference was, he seemed sadder. The way he held himself was heavy like he was holding a great weight on his shoulders. That being said, he always had held himself as if there was always something heavy on his back, it had changed. Before it was the pressure of being the heir to the Shimada Empire. The weight was at the time held with pride. It made him stand straighter, hold himself with dignity, now it was different. Genji was unsure what to call it, and a part of him wanted to say that it was guilt. He hoped that it was guilt.

「 You love stories of our culture, mostly because mother told them to us before we went to bed. After she died you carried on the tradition. For months after the funeral, you spent most of your free time in your room, only coming out to eat. You spent months pouring everything you had into memorizing the myths and legends of our country. Every night you told me one of them in fantastic detail just as she did. Your favorite story she told was the story about the dragons that we all house within our bodies. I was always secretly jealous that you got two, until I felt what it was life to summon just one.」 He looked at his own hand, turning it over. The tattoo was long gone, and though a good majority of his body was not synthetic, he still felt the dragon stir. 「You always told the story of the dragon brothers on the anniversary of her death to honor her, just as you visited Hanamura one the same day every year to honor me.」

Hanzo blinked, his gave unwavering, or trying not to. The mentioning of their mother stirred something within Hanzo’s gaze. The sad sparkle in his eyes only grew. Their mother was always a sore spot for the two of them. She was ripped away unfairly due to illness. Hanzo never cried, and that was the first time Genji could remember seeing his brother look so torn apart. Even after almost 25 years Genji knew that Hanzo had yet to feel the full cycle of grief for any of the family deaths that he had lived through.

“Genji” chuckled slightly, remembering something else from when they were kids. All sadness in Hanzo’s eyes immediately disappeared and a slight annoyance took their place.「 Sorry, I did not mean to laugh at your pain. You also can’t hide the emotions in your eyes brother. But I remembered my nickname for you was _“Aniki”_ because we’re brothers and were born into the yakuza, so it fit both literally and figuratively. I always thought it was hilarious, but you didn’t share that sentiment. So, I only used it when I wanted to make you annoyed, which was often. 」

Hanzo’s annoyance only got worse, but the sadness was definitely gone. No need to make his brother feel more pain than what he was already feeling due to him being alive and reminding him of the one thing he knew his brother regretted more than anything else he had ever done.

「 It is because it was highly unprofessional! I was to be an heir to a criminal empire, not some gang brother! It was especially bad when you did this in front of what little business deals you attended with me in our youth! We were so lucky most of these weren’t outside of Japan and you only came along to sightsee.」Hanzo paused slightly looking at Genji hoping he missed the fact he talked of their past as if he believed him. He didn’t. This wasn’t Genji.

 Genji, of course, was able to pick this up and though his mouth perked up slightly behind his visor. He didn’t say anything, mostly because he knew if he did his brother would only retreat back into his shell of stubbornness and they would be back to square one on trying to win him over. Genji knew that since Hanamura Hanzo knew that he was _his_ Genji. He simply needed to prove it so there was no doubt in his mind, to ease the learned suspicion of everything they both had acquired. Genji was doing okay so far, making him feel a lot of emotions by stories of their pasts. He just needed to say something only Genji would know.

「 Uh-huh sure,」he said instead of calling Hanzo out, a small teasing smile heard in his voice. He watched as Hanzo’s expression changed slightly. He was guarded, clearly still wondering what Genji was currently thinking, He knew that if he had his visor off, Hanzo would. Like Genji, Hanzo could read his brother like a book. The visor was simply something to protect his face, and it matched with the rest of the suit that encased his body. It served no real purpose, he could take it off as he pleased. He kept it on more to keep the scars on his face from Hanzo’s view, knowing that seeing the scars would cause Hanzo to shell up more than he already was.

He meant what he said when he had forgiven Hanzo back in Hanamura. He knew it was finally time that Hanzo had his time of recollection, and redemption. There was a part of him wanted to guilt-trip Hanzo into joining Overwatch, watch him squirm as he struggled to acknowledge that Genji was alive and well, watch him feel guilty over every wrong he had done to Genji. He wanted to purposefully get in his way during training only to watch Hanzo stumble back in shock, throwing his bow away in horror. He might not want to hold the attempted murder over Hanzo’s head, but there was still a part of him that wanted to see what lasting effects were on the archer.

Zenyatta wouldn’t approve of these actions, and in the long run he wouldn’t either. He was no longer than angry or vengeful. He would be harming someone he ultimately wanted to help – who needed help atoning for what he did. Genji was the only person who understood Hanzo enough to help him through this. Even only seeing this small window of the inner turmoil Hanzo had put himself through these past ten years was hard on Genji. He wanted to help his brother lift the weight from his shoulder. He hadn’t seen Hanzo like this since…

Genji looked down, remembering something he really wish he hadn’t. He started fiddling with the mechanism in his arm, a nervous habit that he’s always had and he knew given a minute precisely Hanzo would say something. He knew that this last memory would fully convince his brother. He was the only one who knew this certain secret about the man laying pale and weak in bed in front of him.

He hated this secret. Hated it with a passion. Every time he thought of it he wanted to revive their father and beat him to death once again. Bile rose in his throat as his leg started bouncing in nervous energy.

「 What is it? You’re fidgeting, there is something on your mind. I am incapable of going anywhere so you might as well tell me,」Hanzo said his voice sounding a little tired, clearly getting ready to fall back asleep. His face was also slightly pained, his hand over his stomach lightly clenching at the sheets.

「 I remembered something that you requested to only keep between us. 」 There was a pause as Genji licked his lips and stared at the ground. 「You lost your virginity because father told you to because of a deal we were trying to cut with the Korean Mafia. You left for a week, not knowing what was going to happen. It was your first time making a deal on your own and if anything, I would say you were happy to leave, happy to make our clan proud. When…when you came back you locked yourself in your room for three days. It was almost like when Mother passed. You took your meals in your room, and turned me away every time I came to check in on you, not letting me or anyone else through your door. When you eventually came out it was as if nothing happened. Something clearly did happen, so I confronted you. Something had changed you were more particular with how people touched you. You aren’t one for physical contact, but after that mission it was different. What used to be tolerated – my light pats on your shoulder to let you know I was there for you and a nonverbal way to say ‘goodbye’ was suddenly off limits like my, or anyone else’s, touch was going to hurt you slowly and in the most agonizing way possible.」Genji slowly raised his head to look at his brother once again. If Hanzo could see his eyes there would be nothing but pain and understanding in them. He understood the feeling of discomfort within one’s own skin too well. 「 You…told me once I had cornered you about it late in your room after you all but drowned yourself in sake. You fell into my chest sobbing as you told me everything that happened in excruciating detail, and I will repeat it if you wish but I would rather not. That was the second time I have ever seen you cry. To my knowledge you’ve never had a true relationship. All the ones you’ve had were pushed on you because of business, not because you wanted to pursue it. You said that-」

「 Alright, you’ve made your damn point,」 Hanzo snapped looking away. He winced slightly from the movement in his diaphragm needed for him to raise his voice toward his brother. His hands had moved from his torso and was gripping the sheets at his side. His eyes were full of pain of remembering, but there was a small look of defeat. There was a small grunt as he relaxed back. It was time for pain medication, the archer was sure of it.「 That is…only something Genji would know.」He exhaled and looked at Genji. His shoulders fell as he looked tired, both physically and emotionally. He appeared small and defeated; two things Hanzo wasn’t. If he was able to, he would run and drink the pain away like he always did, but he wasn’t able to. He had to face his brother. He had to face Genji. 「 Now, what do you want? You already made it clear that you’re not here to offer me a job.」

Genji sat up straighter, it seemed something from their father had sunk into the younger Shimada’s head. Sit up straight, sit up straighter when it was time to make the deal. Make the person on the other side of the table feel your presence and force them to bow to your will. Eyes were an important part of the deal, steely and unmovable. Not being able to see Genji’s face made him seem more intimidating, there was nothing but body language to read, and he was sitting still.

Hanzo, for once didn’t attempt to match Genji’s posture. He knew when he had lost and knowing without a doubt that the man in front of him was Genji would make any attempt to put on the same act the cyborg was putting on wouldn’t work in the slightest. He simply looked at him with eyes that were ready to accept any punishment and every sharp word that Genji had to offer.

「 I want to talk. We didn’t get a chance when we were back in Hanamura,」 Genji said calmly after only a few seconds. His voice was quiet, gentle. Despite his commanding posture, he was kind in his words.「 We do have a lot to talk about, don’t even try to avoid this brother. You did try to murder me, and I have gotten over it. It is your turn to make amends with your past and make a decision on how to move on.」Hanzo backed down slightly at the mentioning of the elephant in the room. His gaze further lost its edge as he sunk deeper into the bed. Genji, didn’t react, he let Hanzo squirm slightly under his gaze for a few seconds.

In the ten years they had spent apart, Genji had learned a lot of things. He learned that he was who he was, and it didn’t matter if he was an omnic or human. As long as he was true to himself and was happy, nothing else mattered. He learned that despite being founded with good intentions, organizations could easily slip to the same levels as the groups they were trying to stop in levels of morality and everyone overlooked it. He learned that in the moment, everyone would see themselves as the victim, or a martyr depending on the situation.

He learned that everyone had their reasons for joining Overwatch, some genuinely wanted to be a hero, and some wanted to make amends for the bad choices they had made during their youth. He learned that the people of the organization didn’t care what anyone had done in the past it is what mattered while they were in Overwatch that mattered in their eyes. He learned that no one cared that he used to be a part of the yakuza. They also didn’t care that his brother was the reason he was a cyborg. After they came back from retrieving McCree, everyone was asking about Hanzo’s state rather than asking if the two of them were going to be safe near one another.

He learned that everyone could be redeemed if they really wanted to be redeemed.

He wanted Hanzo to learn this final lesson.

「 I want to explain what I meant back in Hanamura. What I meant when I said I forgave you.」 There was a moment as Genji thought over what he was going to say. Hanzo started fiddling with the sheets lightly. Between the pain and knowing it was Genji, he was more willing to show just how he was feeling. 「 I have forgiven you, but forgiveness doesn’t mean that I am ready to rekindle our relationship. It is going to be a while before I am ready for that and I suspect the same for you. One does not simply completely get over something as drastic as you did Hanzo. I am not happy with the past actions you took, but I am not going to remind you of it every time you turn around. I am going to keep my distance, and keep my ill comments to myself. Right now, I am here to make sure you are alright both physically and emotionally. You are, physically, and emotionally is what I would like to help. There is a monk that helped me that I-」

「 Shut the fuck up. I don’t need any of your fucking help Genji.」Hanzos snapped, frustrated at him all of a sudden. Genji knew the anger wasn’t aimed at him. It was the frustrations Hanzo housed in himself for what he had done. He saw himself as irredeemable and refused to see why anyone else would think differently.「 I am not looking for your forgiveness, nor your help. I have made my decisions and I did what I thought was right at the time. Now I will live with my decision. Even if it means the decade I have lived will repeat until the day I die. I fucking deserve it.」

「 If that’s the case, why did you leave? If you thought you were right, why did you abandon the clan not even three days after you had acted? You felt something. 」He gently reached and put his hand on the hospital bed, his voice still as gentle as he could keep it despite his slight frustration toward the man. 「I am just trying to help you brother. You can stop beating yourself up over this. 」

「 You truly are a fool if you think that I am worth redeeming. I just fucking tried to kill your teammate because someone was paying me! Why can’t you just leave me to suffer from my sins?」Hanzo’s brows were turned upward, his hands gripping the sheets of his bed. 「 You talk of redemption and honor, but you know nothing about it.」

Genji sighed and bowed his head. 「 So you are just going to sit by as the world falls apart? Are you really this blind? Do you not pay attention to the world around you? A second Omnic war is coming in Russia Talon is a threat worldwide. Overwatch had reformed because the world needs something to keep it together. We need allies Hanzo, we need you.」

「 To you Genji, the world is falling apart not to me. It has fallen apart years ago.」

「 You’re still too fucking stubborn, even while you are beaten down with your sins. This is a great opportunity to redeem yourself, but you’re letting go without even looking at what opportunities it gives you.」Genji stood, the chair scraping against the floor loudly and started talking out of the clinic. He stopped and put his hand on the door frame once he reached it, not turning around to look at Hanzo. 「 If you are proven to be the threat you seemed to be in Indiana then you won’t be spared as you were when the Shimada-gumi was taken down. I almost gave Overwatch your name. I wanted to kill you myself. There is still a part of me that does. If push comes to shove, I won’t hesitate Hanzo.」

Hanzo laid there, his mouth slightly opened, trying to come up with something to say. When nothing came after a few seconds, Genji turned to see the somber look crossing Hanzo’s face as the archer showed just how heavy he felt. In a matter of seconds, he seemed to have aged 10 years. The bags under his eyes were darker, and he seemed weaker like he was about to pass out.

With a sigh, Genji left. His head watched the floor pass under him as he walked to the roof to meditate.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been over a month, and I am sorry. I had a new idea and was going to write a oneshot and it was too long and I was going to go back and make "chapters" to go into more detail in it and so I just said fuck it and it's going to be a multi-chapter thing now, so I have been writing on that a little and completely ignoring any and all editing. 
> 
> So, this is a thing. That I finished at like 3am. So...excuse any mistakes and if there's anything glaring lemme know and I'll fix it. 
> 
> Thank for keeping up with this so far!
> 
> **Edit** I am awake now, so I guess I will talk a little more. So the multi-chapter thing is going to be another "Hanzo joins Overwatch" sort of thing. (Not like this, as far as I have planned he isn't joining anytime soon) and it is going to focus more on Genji and Hanzo's relationship before the McHanzo happens. I have a 17K one-shot draft that was going to be 20K if I kept editiing it so I just decided to make it multi-chapter. I have no idea when it is going to be posted either because school gets in the way and I already have two fics I am working on. It is also going to have multiple endings and I am trying to decide how I am going to post that. 
> 
> Also: from what google has told me "Aniki" is an informal way to say brother, and is typically used within gang circles to show who has been in the gang longer and stuff like that. I figured Genji would use it to tease Hanzo to no end.


	5. Sorry, but this is just a REALLY long Author's note

Alright guys, I am first of all sorry for my inactivity, and the news that this author's note contains. I want to thank everyone who has clicked on this story, read it to it's entirety bookmarked it, gave it kudos, commented, EVERYTHING. Like, seriously that really means a lot to me, and y'all are amazing which makes what I have to say that much harder.

I am discontinuing this story.

My semester is almost over, and I am ready to get revamped into writing and I am getting pumped that I am going to continue this other story I have going on, and the other McHanzo I am writing, but this story is being left out of my hype. I have considered doing a lot of things to it, shortening it by taking out some of the more adorable filler chapters, just writing the bare minimum to get the plot rolling ect but that would all be half-assed and I wouldn't be happy with the end result and I don't think y'all would be either. It's not fair to y'all.

Now, I am not going to be deleting this or anything I have for it. I might return to it and completely revamp it. (Honestly I am unhappy with how quickly Hanzo gave up the whole assassinating thing) But for now, I am not going to be actively working on this. 

I also feel bad that I am not giving y'all anything, so I am going to post something from my other McHanzo story. "The Dragon Becomes Us." Meaning what I am using as the summery and a little tid-bit from it that I feel comfortable sharing. Keep in mind, this is all completely un-edited. So, here y'all go. 

\--- 

**The Dragon Becomes Us**

There weren’t many things that were certain in life. The one thing he was sure about was that he, Genji Shimada, was happy with his life. Granted, most of it hinged on the fact he had used guilt on his own brother in order to convince the older Shimada to join the Overwatch after the recall went out as a means to make something of his life and amends for past actions. It also didn’t help, there was a time where Hanzo didn’t believe that Genji was _his_ Genji. But the cyborg ninja was undeterred, and used what he knew about his brother to convince him that the Genji that stood before him was the same one from his past. There were still some issues they were working out, no one was perfect after all, but Genji wouldn’t trade anything for this rekindled relationship he had with his brother. 

 

\---- 

“We need a phrase that only we know so that if we ever suspect one of us is evil, or not really us it can be used as a legitimacy test,” Genji said as he laid against his brother’s leg staring at the clouds through the parts within the leaves. Hanzo closed his book and turned to look at his younger brother, said person turning to look at him past his elbow.

“You have a point; Father has said we are going to be on missions more often. It would be relieving to know that you are truly my foolish brother,” he responded with a small smirk on his lips.

_“Aniki!”_ Genji whined as he sat up and pushed his shoulder lightly. “I am not foolish, I just know to have fun. I am not the one spending our day off from training reading about ancient military strategy that no one uses anymore.” He gestured to the thick book Hanzo was just reading from. “Your mind needs a break just as much as your body does.”

“Your mind does it for me.” He chuckled a little before turning to face his brother. “What did you have in mind?” The sun felt nice on his skin, the warmth that it brought relaxed the normally tense muscles. Cherry blossoms were starting to fall from the trees, the weather was warming slowly but surely. His hair was blowing slightly in the wind, Genji’s waving slightly though with all the product the younger put in his hair it didn’t surprise him that it didn’t move much.

“Well, when you summon your dragons,” He said emphasizing the plurality of the fact he had two dragons to his name, “you say ‘Let the Dragon Consume You.’” His voice dropped to emphasize the deep growl that the other used to summon them, puffing his chest out as he drew from a bow made out of thin air.

Hanzo looked at the ground for a second, then lightly ran his hand over the tattoo that decorated his left arm. Dragons, plural. Two dragons were crawling under his skin, sharpening his instincts. The Clan Elders said that Hanzo was destined for great things. That him having two dragons was going to bring great wealth to the already wealthy clan, that their power was going to reach far and wide. The business that the family had been a part of for generations was going to be taken to the next level at the hands of the elder brother.

“Hey, I am kidding about the jealousy thing,” Genji said gently when he saw how Hanzo was reacting, leaning over and lightly putting his hand over Hanzo’s. “Two dragons, big fucking deal. We all have one, you just have another mythical beast crawling under your skin and to be honest one is weird enough.”

“It is not that it’s…”

“I know…” Genji nodded and squeezed his hand as he nodded slightly and stared at the grass in front of him. “You don’t think I can’t see how the elders look at us? They look at you like you’re some trophy, that you are some hot-shot when you’re still a kid, and me…they look at me like I am dirt. I know they don’t like how I spend most of my time at Rikimaru. But, eh fuck ‘em. I never signed up to be some yakuza Hanzo. If you don’t want to do it, just don’t.”

“That won’t work. I tried remember? They pulled my rope tighter than yours, and they always do when I don’t do what is best for the clan.” Most of the threats they made were in regards to Genji. If he didn’t do what they wanted him to, then they would make Genji’s life harder, taking away the things that Genji loved about Hanamura slowly but surely, and Genji’s happiness was more important than his own. The clan needed an heir and they chose Hanzo. It was no secret that Genji hated the clan and its business. If he could give him an out, it would be worth it.

“Yeah…well…” Genji shrugged and reached to squeeze Hanzo’s shoulder and offered him a smile. “Next week let’s go to the arcade, like we used to before they got to be hardasses alright? Dad’s still alive so they can’t do much.”

“You say that like his days are numbered,” Hanzo teased trying to lighten the mood.

“I mean, everyone dies Aniki. We just cause a lot of those deaths.” He pressed his lips together for a beat, as if giving a moment of silence for those that died at the hands of the clan. “Anyways, as I was saying you say ‘Let the Dragon Consume You,’ when you summon your dragons, and I say ‘The Dragon Becomes Me.’ So, I was thinking our Brother Validity Phrase be something like ‘The dragon becomes us as it consumes our enemies.’ What do ya think?” Hanzo laughed and shook his head.

“It sounds ridiculous,” He said once Genji laughed with him. He felt the dragons under his arm stir, as if they knew something he didn’t. “’As long as the dragons of the North and South stand strong,’” he added after a little thought. Genji repeated the phrase and then a wide smile spread across his face.

“Fuck yeah that sounds so cool!” The younger teenager bounced slightly before turning toward Hanzo and raised his hands for him to take. The elder Shimada did and together they repeated the phrase.

_The dragon becomes us and consumes our enemies as long as the dragons of the North and South stand strong._

\---

“I can’t believe you remember,” Hanzo murmured as he took the tea offered to him by Genji. The younger Shimada sat across the table from him with his own tea, neither of them looking at the other.

“I could say the same for you,” Genji responded, looking at the table. “I had other things I could’ve used to convince you that I was myself.” He shrugged and took a sip of his tea. Hanzo glanced briefly at the cyborg. There were many questions on his tongue, like what he did for the past decade, and why he waited so long to confront him.

Genji had changed. It was clear with how he held himself. Where the elder brother was constantly at odds with himself, guilt wearing him down, Genji was at peace, at least within himself. The younger Shimada looked up from his tea and met his eyes.

“There are many questions written on your face. I don’t think now would be the best to divulge into what the decade had brought to the both of us. I came back to Hanamura and confronted you for a reason. I believe there is hope for you Hanzo.” He straightened his already mostly straight back and put his hands on his thighs as he sat on his knees. “I would like to offer you a way to redeem yourself.”

This caught Hanzo’s attention. The archer’s eyebrows rose and then almost immediately furrowed in thought as he nodded for Genji to continue. He wasn’t sure how he would respond to what his brother would suggest, but the air was thick and very awkward, his stomach was tied in knots. He felt obligated to at least listen to what Genji had to offer to him.

“A group found me, Overwatch. They put me together, gave me this body and in return I offered them my sword. While I was healing they came and took the family down. Clearly not completely, but I heard you weren’t found. I stayed with them until they fell 5 years ago, and now there is a recall. I talked to the new leader of the group and if you want to redeem yourself much like I had and fight for a cause, even if that cause is to reconcile your sins, this is the place to do it.” His tone was even as he explained all of this, not really looking at Hanzo as he spoke.

It was the simplest answer, reconcile with Genji while working alongside him. The way he described what the organization was like, it seemed as if he could come and go as he pleased, and that appealed to him. He knew Overwatch, everyone did. He knew that they stood for being good, and that was something Hanzo was not.

“The world is changing Hanzo,” Genji repeated what he said last night when Hanzo didn’t answer. “There are signs in Russia that there is another Omnic war coming, there is an organization that has threatened innocent people, and I know that you don’t care about the world like this, but think for a moment. If you were to aid in preventing these things from being a problem, would that bring you more honor than freelance mercenary work?”

Hanzo’s proud shoulders fell with a sigh. He knew that Genji had a point. He didn’t have to fully commit to these causes, just enough to keep his team alive and the enemy from gaining ground in what they were trying to do. It was something he had done many times, and will do time and time again.

“Alright, for you my brother I will join this Overwatch.”

Genji lifted his head as his eyes crinkled and his mouth was pulled back into a wide smile.

 

\---

 

Again thank you all so much for your support. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you want a more detailed what's going on with my writing you can follow me on tumblr [here.](http://caliginous-confused.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I hope you guys have a great day!


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